D&D General Your Top Tip(s) for Prepping a Published Adventure

[jayoungr]

I frequently run published adventures, and I'm sure that's true for many others on this board as well. So, do you have any favorite tips, tricks, or techniques to share for prepping and/or running published adventures?

I have a couple to start us off:

1. Prepare a list of NPC names appropriate to the setting. You never know when you're going to need to name a random character.

2. If the PCs are going to get into a situation where they meet a huge number of new NPCs at once, look for opportunities to introduce them in small batches whenever possible. See if you can add a few to earlier scenes if possible. Have some of them staying in the same inn as the PCs, or have them meet on the road to the event, or something like that. If they're all at one large event, subdivide them into groups and let the PCs encounter one group at a time.

 

[iserith]

2. If the PCs are going to get into a situation where they meet a huge number of new NPCs at once, introduce them in small batches whenever possible. See if you can add a few to earlier scenes if possible. Have some of them staying in the same inn as the PCs, or have them meet on the road to the event, or something like that. If they're all at one large event, subdivide them into groups and let the PCs encounter one group at a time.

To add to #2, consider just editing most of the background info NPCs out of the adventure. There's often too many and too much session time in my opinion is spent prying exposition out of an endless chain of quirky, cagey NPCs. Hardly anybody is going to remember them or the information they give out, so it's really just a big waste of time in my view. Trim the fat to get to the adventure faster.

3. Similar to above, don't bother with quest-giver scenes. Or at the very least, don't spend too much time on things where the PCs don't actually get to make a decision. If you're running a module, for example, and the players have agreed to play that module, they don't actually get a choice to not take the quest, do they? So don't act as if they do. Acceptance of the quest is assured to play the game. (Of course, this doesn't apply to quests that actually are optional.)

4. Consider the best means by which to award XP prior to the game and tell the players what they need to do to earn it. If the module is event-based (a plot needs following), then the best sort of advancement method is either milestone XP (if you can specifically tell the PCs the quests or goals that will earn them XP) or story-based advancement without XP (DM says when they level based on how much of the content has been covered). This keeps the PCs on the path by not rewarding them for going off said path. If, however, the module is a location-based adventure, standard XP is best in my view, and I wouldn't even worry about characters being of disparate levels or falling behind the module's recommended level at various stages. The game is honestly not hard enough for most people to worry about these things.

5. Rename all the NPCs you do end up keeping so that their names are memorable, even if it means they're a little silly. Players remember silly names that describe the NPC in some fashion. They rarely remember the typical fantasy names the modules give us.

 

[Jfdlsjfd]

Know the supernatural powers the PCs can wield and try to spot if a challene designed in the published adventure won't be totally circumvented by your group. Especially if they are just above the level intended, or if they access casual flight before the average...

I also second the NPC list idea. And do note them, because sometimes the players will focus on a totally random and minor NPC for no reason...It will look bad if you have forgotten who is Bob the Innkeeper.

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[David Howery]

kinda depends on what you're running. If it's a 5E campaign with Ghosts of Saltmarsh, there's a lot of prep.... along with the standard plot/NPCs, you've got the new ship rules to integrate. Older modules tend to be a lot shorter one-shot stuff.
One thing I'll add to the list: be prepared for the adventure to go off the rails. PCs have an annoying habit of heading off in unexpected directions. Even in the most railroad-y adventures, they're likely to get off the train. Have an idea of what other stuff is around your adventure area so you're not caught totally unprepared...

 

[jayoungr]

3. Similar to above, don't bother with quest-giver scenes.

How do you like to get around them? Start with the PCs having already accepted the mission?

 

[iserith]

How do you like to get around them? Start with the PCs having already accepted the mission?

Yes, ideally. Give players just enough exposition so they have context to act, then put them at an actual decision point. I believe there is a direct correlation to the quality of the players' game experience and the number of meaningful choices they make during a session. Cut out the decisions in which they really have no choice.

 

[Jfdlsjfd]

How do you like to get around them? Start with the PCs having already accepted the mission?

In medias res is a great way to start a module. Start with a bang, maybe even a fight, related to the quest, and instill exposition as needed. In published adventure, many time it's overdesignd anyway (or you need to change it to match your players' goals better).

 

[jasper]

For season 9 AL, create your own box text while reading the module. Pencil in the page number if the module refers to something. EX Page 4 mentions bonus objective A write in page 14. If mentions the DMG write in the page number you need.

 

[3catcircus]

Have a list of all of the environmentals for each indoor location - what are the walls, floor and ceiling made of, temperature, visibility, light sources, etc.